It is that time of year, August. 

My wife and I have been taking advantage of our pre-fall hikes. September twenty-first is the actual fall date. So we still have a few days before summer is officially over and fall begins. If you hiked in the spring, what you smelled, heard, touched, or tasted, is different. I can remember walking the trails at Clearcreek Metro park in the springtime and finding mostly flattened ferns, a ton of dead leaves, and bare trees, with a number of nuts crunching as we walked over them. The hemlocks were present with cones on the ground and some new growth, about the only thing green, other than some scotch pine and moss. Now is a  wonderful time to look at trees before they turn colors. They are green, and you can match leaf to guide to identify. I like to take pictures with a camera or the camera on the phone. Later I call up the website and look at the picture and use the key to look up the leaf.  The real challenge is to match the leaf and the bark, plus any nuts or seeds that have fallen. Then the guide will give you some information on the facts about that tree. 

In the winter, tree identification had to be done by looking at the bark on the trees. The bark is different, of course, with no leaves to help, although a clue might be upon the ground around the tree. I noticed while at this year’s Ohio State Fair Department of Natural Resources a presentation of the Ohio native tree displayed with chunks of cut logs with information on the different identified trees.  It is a real challenge to match a key guide with the bark to identify the trees. For more information, check out this website: ohiodnr.gov/…es/pin-oak-Quercus palustris. Using this link takes you to a site that is well done for the inquisitive mind.  It has information on every tree in Ohio, including the bark, picture of the leaves, and interesting facts. These are through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources websites and are very educational. I encourage outdoor exercise by hiking and exploring the wonderful trees in Ohio. Some of these trees may be in your backyard or a park near your house. An excellent time is right now to walk through a trail and use a simple tree guide to match leaves with trees. You can also take a picture of the leaves and, at home, match a picture of the tree to the guides. A great activity to do with kids and even just you and a friend. I am seventy-one and hiking and still love knowing about the trees that are all around us. 

Remember: Take only pictures and leave only footprints. Subscribe, and we will send a newsletter to your email; it is free.